Art101 Ca1

Today I will be discussing how Francois Clouet’s painting reflects the culture and ideology of the renaissance era. The renaissance era came along with a resurgence of ideas or a more classical way of thinking, which I believe depicts this painting. I am going to defend my position by telling you what I think the ideology and culture of the renaissance era based on my background readings. First, I will start with the culture of renaissance and then finish with the ideology of the renaissance era. Renaissance meaning “rebirth” started in the 14th century and lasted through most of the 17th century. Most people called it a classical cultural movement, which sparked a more intellectual and natural way of expression. There was more interest in the human body and more importantly human emotion in the art that was created. Another point of view, as expressed by Rita Putatunda, is that:
“The Renaissance period was a time of great cultural upheaval which had a profound effect on European intellectual development. Having its beginnings in Italy, by the 16th century, it had spread to the rest of Europe. Its influence was felt in various aspects of intellectual pursuits such as philosophy, literature, religion, science, politics, and, of course, art. The scholars of this period applied the humanist method in every field of study, and sought human emotion and realism in art. The inherent reason for the changes incorporated in artistic technique was a renewed interest in depicting nature in its natural beauty, as well as to resolve the fundamentals of aesthetics, the pinnacles of which can be seen in the works of some of the best of Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, regarded as the most versatile of geniuses of the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, 1475-1564, a Florentine sculptor, painter and architect, and Raphael, 1483-1520, whose works embody the ideals of High Renaissance.” (Putatunda, Rita (N.D). Italian Culture: Renaissance Art and Artists. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/italian-culture-renaissance-art-and-artists.html)
So based on what we have found to be the culture of the renaissance era, there was an obvious explosion of art based on human emotion and anatomy. The artists of this time craved for the natural look, they didn’t want to cover up and distort what God had created. In the painting “Lady in her Bath” you can see different human emotion and obvious exploration of the human body as the woman sits naked in the bath. To me this is a very strong argument as to why Francois Clouet’s painting reflects the culture of the renaissance era, but before I get ahead of myself, we have to explore the ideology of the renaissance era as well.
What is Ideology? I asked myself that same question as I wasn’t too familiar on the term.
“Ideology is a comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things as in several philosophical tendencies, or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society. Ideologies are systems of abstract thought applied to public matters and thus make this concept central to politics. Implicitly every political or economic tendency entails an ideology whether or not it is propounded as an explicit system of thought.” ((N.P), (N.D). Ideology, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology#References)

What I take from this explanation is, the ideology of the renaissance era wasn’t built overnight. If ideology is a myth or belief that can guide individuals or an entire social movement then it must have been pretty overwhelming and a lengthy process. Imagine trying to persuade entire countries or cities on what beliefs and culture you believe to be right. Maybe that’s why there are so many paintings from this era; perhaps it was a better way of pushing the renaissance beliefs on individuals. The ideology of the renaissance era also had a lot of religious beliefs which did create some turmoil among the people. Here is an example:
“The new ideals of humanism, although more secular in some aspects, developed against a Christian backdrop, especially in the Northern Renaissance. Much, if not most, of the new art was commissioned by or in dedication to the Church. However, the Renaissance had a profound effect on contemporary theology, particularly in the way people perceived the relationship between man and God. Humanism and the Renaissance therefore played a direct role in sparking the Reformation, as well as in many other contemporaneous religious debates and conflicts.” (Open University (N.D). Looking at the Renaissance: Religious Context in the Renaissance. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance#cite_note-openuni-17)
Why is religion important to the discussion of ideology? I believe religion was the main source in changing people’s views on man and what they consider natural. The artists, sculptors, writers and scholars wanted to change the culture and ideology of man with their paintings/creations. Their ideology was that God created man as he was and it was beautiful, they should not change the look of a person to suite their own wants. The “Lady in Her Bath” expresses the renaissance ideology, mostly because the natural way it was portrayed. The way the child is being mischievous or the women breast feeding in the open, these are natural behaviors of people. In conclusion, when you put the culture and ideology of the renaissance era together do they portray “Lady in Her Bath?” my answer is yes. When you look at the culture discussion, everything points to this painting. The resurgence in ideas, the interest in the human body and anatomy and last the interest in human expression. There is human expression in the paining as well as interest in the human body. Next we discussed the ideology of the renaissance era and how it portrayed Francois Clouet’s painting. This was the way they viewed themselves and others, how they wanted not to change anything from its natural state. Well the painting emulates the renaissance ideology, nothing is farfetched and beyond natural. People today would argue that the women aren’t beautiful, they are heavyset and not the traditional blonde hair blue eyed. Well artists from the renaissance era along with society believed that “natural” was beautiful as that is what God created. So with that said, how can you not say this painting reflects the culture and ideology of the renaissance era? To me it is far beyond what the renaissance era stood for.

REFRENCES

(N.P), (N.D). Ideology, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology#References
Open University (N.D). Looking at the Renaissance: Religious Context in the Renaissance. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance#cite_note-openuni-17
Putatunda, Rita (N.D). Italian Culture: Renaissance Art and Artists. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/italian-culture-renaissance-art-and-artists.html

References: Open University (N.D). Looking at the Renaissance: Religious Context in the Renaissance. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance#cite_note-openuni-17 Putatunda, Rita (N.D). Italian Culture: Renaissance Art and Artists. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/italian-culture-renaissance-art-and-artists.html